10 tips to choose the right template for online newspaper

One of the biggest challenges after you decide to start an online news website is
zeroing in on the right template for your online newspaper. As a news publisher
you need to focus on the points below which will help you make an informed decision.

1. Dynamic Template: Typically an online newspaper has scores of pages and
it's quite obvious that you need a dynamic template to work successfully as unlike
static templates it will enable you to upload or update any piece of news article
instantly with a few clicks. You should have access to powerful layout builder tools
which allows the flexibility to rearrange different sections of the site. In addition
you should have complete control over the Appearance feature so you can easily change
colors, fonts, etc.

2. Layout Type: It's a challenging task to finalize a layout when there are
so many options available, you should stick to the one which is simple yet flexible
enough to accommodate all your homepage content. Some basic news layouts are like
2-column, 3-column and 4-coulmn, you should also ensure that these layouts are customizable
to fit in all your requirements.

3. Responsive Design: With the evolving technology you can't afford to stay
behind and should ensure that your news website follows the web standards for seamless
integration with various devices and browsers. Readership base is very important
and your site will suffer if you don't make sure whether your site follows these
guidelines or not.

4. Avoiding Heavy Flash: Using too much flash is never a good idea on a news
website as it often results in browser crashes and quite considerable load times.
Ad's like popups, sticky or peeler ads should also be avoided specially when they
are not enhanced for browsers and are simply there for a visual point of view.

5. Easy to Navigate: The navigational tabs on any website typically blend
in with the rest of the design and your newspaper CMS should be capable enough to
allow you the flexibility to place various navigation tabs be it in horizontal or
vertical alignment anywhere on the site.

6. Reader Friendly: To encourage more visitors and retain the loyal readership
base it's important that you have reader friendly pages which are simple, clear
and easy to navigate and read. You can also take use of the various bookmarking
and sharing tools to further populate your articles on various networks.

7. Heavy Images: As a news publisher you will be uploading hundreds of images
in a week along with other file types. You should select an online newspaper software
which compresses and at the same time enhances these images for various web browsers
automatically, this will ensure that your images don't pixelate and your sites return
with very fast loading times.

8. Larger Ad Spaces: Advertisements are very important for any online newspaper
templates as not only does it take care of the running costs but also provides you
with an opportunity to make a living out of it. The Ad spaces on your site should
be large, clear and precise. There should be no confusion in this regard and the
online newspaper creator should also allow various widget/html/java scripts so you
are able to take full advantage of any vacant space on your news site and at the
same time keep your site loaded with the content of your choice.

9. Browser Compatibility: As discussed before it's necessary that your site
works on all the various browsers as you never know what your visitors are using
to access the sites, the device can be on Apple, Windows, Android or other platforms
and with the ever growing use of smart phones and tabs it goes without saying that
your readers should be comfortable reading your news sites across all devices and
platforms.

10. News Slider: One of the new trends visible in today's dailies is the
news slider box to display latest stories in rotating or tabular fashion. This not
only looks attractive and modern but also provides the flexibility for a publisher
to include latest stories in a limited space. Some other notable features are the
most recent and most read articles which keep the audience engaged with the latest
happenings.

While you consider the above factors also keep in mind that you should start with
a turnkey newspaper template and with the help of the newspaper publishing software
it can be easily customized to fit in your requirements. This will not only save
you thousands of dollars but also considerable time as designing a news template
from scratch involves a lot of money and time with no guaranteed results.

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